the Hon Joseph Kay AM

Career highlights

• Former Judge of the Appeal Division of the Family Court of Australia.
• Australian Hague Child Abduction Convention liaison Judge
• Co-Director of Studies for the World Congresses on Family Law and Children's Rights – held in Canada in 2009 and Sydney in 2013
• Former Chair of the Family Law Bar Association.

Consultant editor of Federal Law Reports and Halsbury’s Laws of Australia. 

Question and answer

1. Why is the issue of bullying of particular interest to you?

I have had 40 years of experience practising as a Family Law barrister/judge dealing with issues that involve children’s welfare. Whilst none of my cases have been specifically targeted at bullying, the focus has been on ensuring the best interests of the children concerned have been met.

I hope that I can translate this experience into helping the Board and the community deal with the scourge of bullying and make life easier for victimised children.  

2. Where do you believe you have made a difference in your field?

This question is best asked of others rather than of me. I gained international expertise in child abduction and was the go to expert on child support for several years. Hopefully I decided some cases correctly and helped shaped the family law jurisprudence of the nation.

3. How do you anticipate your area of expertise will enable you to contribute to NCAB?

I gather my main task is to chair meetings of academic experts who hopefully know a lot more about role of NCAB than I do.